GEORGIA

Police used rubber bullets against protesters protesting against the foreign agents bill outside the parliament building in Tbilisi.

As Trend reports, several people were injured.

It should be noted that yesterday the Georgian parliament at a plenary session supported the bill “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” in the second reading. 83 deputies voted for the bill, 23 against.

At a plenary meeting, the Parliament of Georgia supported the bill “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” in the second reading.

As Trend reports with reference to Georgian media, the vote was broadcast live on the website of the legislative body.

„83 deputies voted “for” the bill, 23 “against”,” said Chairman of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili, summing up the voting results.

Designated EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar has arrived in Yerevan, Armenia, on a visit, Trend reports.

According to the information, the EU representative met with Armenian Parliament Vice Speaker Ruben Rubinyan.

During the meeting, the situation in the South Caucasus and cooperation between Armenia and the EU were discussed.

The Georgian Parliament has adopted the draft law "On transparency of foreign influence" in its first reading, Trend reports.

According to the information, 83 MPs voted in favor of the bill. Deputies from the opposition factions left the session hall.

The bill stipulates that NGOs and media funded from abroad should be registered in a special register and fill out an annual declaration.

Georgia, together with 12 NATO member countries and partners, will take part in the international naval exercise “Sea Shield 24”, which will be held in Romania from April 8 to 21, the press service of the Romanian Ministry of Defense reported.

According to the information, in addition to Georgia and Romania, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the USA, Turkey and France will take part in the exercises.

A new meeting of the “3+3” consultative platform is expected to be held this year, said Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali, Trend reports.

He expressed hope for Georgia's presence at this meeting.

The ambassador noted that this format is the most effective for solving problems in the South Caucasus.

Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili hopes that oil transportation through the Baku-Supsa pipeline will resume in 2024 after regular pumping was suspended in spring 2022, Trend reports referring to Georgian media.

Azerbaijan has exported 2.1 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe during the first two months of 2024, the country’s energy minister Parviz Shahbazov wrote on X, Trend reports.

„From January to February of this year, Azerbaijan exported 2.1 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe, 1.4 billion cubic meters to Türkiye, and 0.6 billion cubic meters to Georgia“, Shahbazov stated.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railroad's capacity can be expanded to five million tons by the end of April 2024, the chairman of „Azerbaijani Railways“, Rovshan Rustamov says on social media, Trend reports.

In 2024, Georgian authorities plan to hold „Trojan Footprint“ special forces exercises and „Noble Partner“ multinational maneuvers on their territory together with the United States. This is stated in the government program of the candidate for prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze, sent to parliament.